New Entrants to Farming Fact Sheet
An Introduction National Advice Hub
to Benchmarking T: 0300 323 0161
E: advice@fas.scot
W: www.fas.scot
for Sheep
What is benchmarking and why should I do it?
Benchmarking is a useful management tool, allowing you to take an in-
depth look at your farm business. This can be useful to review on a regular
basis to track progress of your flock. You can also benchmark your flock
against others of similar size or management system through various
discussion groups, monitor farms or costing programmes.
Benchmarking provides a basis for comparison and a starting point for
setting targets. By comparing your flock’s performance against industry
targets or other flocks, it allows you to identify where the strengths and
weaknesses are in the business and where there is room for improvement.
There are a number of benchmarks or KPI’s (key performance indicators)
to look at, both physical and financial this fact sheet will detail some
physical KPI’s to improve flock performance.
Key benchmarks for sheep
The sheep year can be divided into five main stages, with relevant KPIs, these are shown below.
1. Tupping
KPI Calculation Target
Ewe to ram ratio No of ewes / no of rams >50
Ewe mortality Ewe deaths over a year/ ewes tupped in the <4%
previous year x 100
Flock replacement rate Purchased ewes / ewes put to the ram x 100 <23%
433486LH / 16.06.2020
2. Scanning
KPI Calculation Target
Scanning % Lambs scanned / ewes tupped x 100 Lowland – 200%
Upland – 175%
Hill – 115%
Barren ewes Ewes barren / ewes tupped x 100 <2%
3. Lambing
KPI Calculation Target
Lambing % Lambs born / ewes tupped x 100 Lowland – 195%
Upland – 170%
Hill – 110%
Abortion % Ewes aborted/ewes tupped x 100 <2%
Lambs rearing % Total lambs reared / no of ewes tupped x 100 Lowland – 190%
Upland – 165%
Hill – 105%
Lamb losses from scanning (Lambs scanned-lambs reared) / lambs <15-20%
to rearing scanned x 100
Lambing intervention Ewe requiring lambing intervention / total <5%
ewes lambed
4. Weaning
KPI Calculation Target
Eight-week weight Average weight at eight weeks >20kg
Average age at weaning Average age at weaning 60-100 days depending
on availability of quality
forage and conditions
of the season
Average weight at weaning Average weight at weaning
Average lamb growth rate (Average lamb weaning weight - birth weight) >280kg/day
to weaning / Average age at weaning
Average 90-day adjusted Average lamb growth rate to weaning x 90 + Lowland/Upland >30kg
weight birth weight Hill >25kg
5. Post-weaning
KPI Calculation Target
Ewe efficiency Lamb rearing % x average lamb sale weight / 1
average ewe mature weight
Average days to slaughter Average date at slaughter - planned start of <150 days
lambing plus 10 days
Post weaning lamb growth Average lamb weight - average weight at last >120g/day
rate weight / days since last weighing
Average lamb growth rate Average lamb sale weight (may need to convert >250g/day
carcase weight to estimated liveweight by
dividing by 0.47) / average days to slaughter
Kilograms of concentrate use Total tonnes of feed utilised / number of Early season <15kg/ewe
per ewe and lamb ewes tupped Mid season <10kg/ewe
Late season <5kg/ewe
6. Others
KPI Calculation Target
Ewe Lameness Ewes lame / total ewes in flock x 100 <5%
Veterinary input Total veterinary cost / ewes <£7/ewe
Number of ewes per full time Total ewes / (staff x proportion of full time 650
equivalent labour units hours dedicated to sheep)
Stocking rates (livestock Total livestock units* / area (ha) High rate – 2-2.5 LU/ha
units/ha) Low rate – 1-1.5 LU/ha
Inorganic Nitrogen Nitrogen use / area (ha)
use (kg/ha)
Total kg of liveweight /ha Stocking rate x rearing % x average weight of Hill >200kg/ha, Upland
lamb sold >300kg/ha, Lowland
>400kg/ha
Stocking rates
Livestock grazing decisions are often made on the grass supply and
demand on a farm in a given year, which fluctuates greatly depending on
the weather and season. However, the stocking rate can also be a very
useful tool, to make whole farm decisions, such as how many animals a
farm can sustain of each species for farm comparisons. This will depend
on the farms capabilities (grade, slope, climate, etc.) and management
practices (grass quality, fertiliser and organic manure applications,
environmental schemes, etc.).
The Scottish Government has defined livestock units for different classes of stock as follows:
Livestock Units (per head)
Ewes (including suckling lambs) 0.15
Other sheep 0.15
Goats 0.15
Cows (including suckling calves) 1.0
Other cattle (6 - 24 months) 0.6
Other cattle (24 months and over) 1.0
Farmed Deer: Adult stags (27 months and over) 0.4
Farmed Deer: Hinds, including suckling calves (27 months and over) 0.3
Farmed Deer: Juveniles (6 to 27 months) 0.2
Alpacas 0.3
(https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/grants/Schemes/LMCMS/Options/Info/LivestockInfo)
Setting targets and monitoring performance
No doubt you will have an idea of where the current bottlenecks or issues are to production in the flock, whether it is
poor mortality or lamb growth rates. Whatever the area you wish to target for improvement that is where you should
drill down into some of the KPI’s to benchmark yourself against, identify the possible cause and make changes. You
may need to take advice on how best to improve and monitor results on a regular basis. Every KPI must be specific
or have a definition, a target goal and be based on the SMART goal’s principles:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timebound
It is a good idea to keep everyone (staff and family members) involved in setting KPI’s so they are clear on what
needs to be recorded for easy calculation and review. You may wish to set a time period for when to achieve the
target goal to motivate yourself and staff. Carry out a yearly review of flock performance once lambing is over while
it is fresh in your mind, with records close to hand. Bear in mind that some improvements may take years to show,
especially if you are making changes to breeding policy and genetics.
Example KPI assessment and factors to consider for improvement
KPI – lamb losses from scanning to weaning
The target is to lose no more than 15-20% lambs in this period
This KPI gives a measure of the amount of lambs weaned compared to the potential number of lambs that
could have been weaned. It allows for an exercise to record lamb losses from scanning through to weaning,
where any trends can be identified, to change any management improvements necessary. It also
allows for a record of the potential income lost from lamb losses. This KPI allows for a
baseline of performance to set future targets against.
Why is the target not being met?
Identifying when the losses are happening through the ewe’s pregnancy helps determine the area to focus on.
Drilling down into the nutrition, health and genetics can help address these areas. For instance, if more than 5% of
lambs are lost pre-lambing, review vaccination policy, consider checking mineral nutrition and check for environmental
abortion risks such as soil ingestion or mouldy forage.
For more information on reducing lamb losses, visit the Live Lambs web pages, were there are fact sheets specific to
this KPI including, nutrition, body condition score, behaviour and abortion control.
https://www.sruc.ac.uk/info/120732/live_lambs
Tips for getting started with benchmarking
• Keep good, accurate records – if you do not measure it, you cannot manage it! Don’t just record numbers, make
notes e.g. drought year, cocci infection, dog in with ewes at tupping, reason for deaths, etc.
• Compare your data – against your own flock year-on-year but also against industry targets or top performing herds.
• Select a few KPI’s to focus on – do not try to do everything at once. Focus on the weaker areas of the business
identified through benchmarking to tackle first.
• Join a discussion group – you can compare your herd against others and share ideas and practices that you can
implement on your own farm.
Further Information
There are excellent industry tools freely available for benchmarking, these can be found in the following links including:
Farm Management Handbook
QMS Cattle and Sheep Enterprise Profitability in Scotland
